Water Supply for urban poor in...

W at e r S u p p ly f o r u r b a n p o o r i n i n d i a

W a t e r S u p p ly f o r u r b a n p o o r i n i n d i a

Written by Priyanjali Bose and Puneet Srivastava

May, 2017

Cover Photo: A woman and children fetching water from a hand pump in a slum in Kanpur. WaterAid/ Puneet Srivastava

All other photos: WaterAid/ Priyanjali Bose

W a t e r S u p p ly f o r u r b a n p o o r i n i n d i a

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The authors would like to acknowledge the support from Vigyan Foundation, Lucknow and Shramik Bharti,

Kanpur in organising the field visits and sharing relevant information related to water supply work in the

slums. Authors would also like to express their sincere thanks to the community members for providing

information to be able to write this report. Lastly, authors would like acknowledge the support from WaterAid

India team for their continuous support in the process.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

2

puneet SrivastavaManager-Policy (Urban WASH and Climate Change)

WaterAid India

priyanjali boseWater Policy and Governance

School of Habitat Studies

Tata Institute of Social Sciences

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contents

CHAPTER 1: Introduction

1. Urbanisation of Poverty: Emergence of Slums

2. Challenges of Water Supply for Urban Poor

CHAPTER 2: Policy and Governance Framework of Urban Water Supply

1. Governance Framework

2. Policy Framework

CHAPTER 3: Urban Water Supply: Case Studies for Situational Analysis

1. Dimensions of water supply service to urban poor

1.1 Accessibility

1.2 Equity

1.3 Equality

1.4 Efficiency

1.5 Willingness to Pay

1.6 Reliability

CHAPTER 4: Analysing the Economic Burden on Urban Poor

CHAPTER 5: Realising Right to Water for Basic Needs for Urban Poor

CHAPTER 6: Finding the Way Forward

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introduction

1 . U R B A N I S AT I o N o F P o v E R T y : E M E R G E N C E o F S l U M S

1.1.

In the 21st century, globalisation era

has witnessed urbanisation as a growing

phenomenon even in the remotest areas of

the world. Urbanisation provides South Asian

countries with the potential to transform their

economies to join the ranks of richer nations

in both prosperity and liveability (World Bank,

2015). It is the gradual increase in the proportion

of people living in urban areas and the ways in

which each society adapts to the change (Barney

Cohen, 2015). It is predominantly the process by

which towns and cities are formed and become

larger as more people begin living and working

in central areas (Demographic Partitions, 2013).

It is expected that by 2025, over 60 per cent of

the world population would live in urban areas

(Meinzen-Dick and Appasamy 2002). According

to Rees, 2006 over 95per cent of this is likely

to happen in developing countries like India,

Bangladesh and China.

1.2.

As per census 2011, 31.16 per cent (377.10

millions) of the total population of India is living

in urban areas. If we take larger villages into

account, half of India’s population is already

living in urban areas or in areas with similar

conditions. The last decade 2001-11 saw for

the first time since independence, the absolute

increase of population in urban areas (91

million) more than in rural areas (90 million).

This clearly indicates that India is urbanising.

This transition, which will see India’s urban

population reach a figure close to 600 million

by 2031, is not simply a shift of demographics.

It places cities and towns at the centre of India’s

development trajectory1. Already, the number of

metropolitan cities with population of 1 million

and above has increased from 35 per cent in

2001 to 50 per cent in 2011 and is expected to

increase further to 87 per cent by 2031.

1.3.

While both the United Nations (UN) and

the Government of India have official slum

1

1 Report on Indian Urban infrastructure and services, HPEC,2011

Water Supply for Urban Poor in India

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definitions, these definitions conceal substantial

differences in deprivation both between

settlements (inter-slum variation) and within

settlements (intra-slum variation). One of the

major causes of inter-slum variation is a legal

divide between notified (government-recognized)

slums and non-notified (unrecognized) slums.

37 per cent of slum households in India

are non-notified (Ministry of Statistics and

Programme Implementation, 2013). Across India,

non-notified slums suffer from substantially

poorer access to latrines, piped water supply,

electricity, and housing materials, as compared

to notified slums; they also receive much less

assistance from government slum improvement

schemes (Ministry of Statistics and Programme

Implementation, 2013). As per NSS 69th Round

2012, it is observed that at an all India level, 8.5

per cent households living in notified slums had

tried to move out of the slum. The proportion

was estimated at 4.9 per cent and 6.9 per cent

of households living in non-notified slums and

squatter settlements respectively.

1.4.

Three types of slums have been defined in

Census of India, namely, Notified, Recognized,

and Identified. All states in India report presence

of slums in its cities and towns except Manipur,

Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and

Lakshadweep. Total number of 2613 towns have

reported slums as per census 2011 in India. A

total of 65.49 million people live in slum areas

(which is about 17.36 per cent of total urban

population) with 22.53 million in notified slums,

20.13 million in recognised slums and 22.82

million in identified slums in India.

1.5.

Non-wage, informal employment is a dominant

characteristic of the urban poor households. In

2004-05 between 72 and 82 per cent of the

usually employed male urban poor and between

78 and 80 per cent of the usually employed

female urban poor were reported to be either

self-employed or casually employed. It is this fact

that imparts a high degree of instability to the

income profile of the urban poor, and restricts

their access to any form of institutional and

market finance. The socio-economic implications

of a large slum population -- which includes

the cost of civic services, housing and health

care, and increased crime and social tensions

-- saw the Government of India frame the Rajiv

Awas Yojana/Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna as a

policy response in the last decade. The scheme

is intended to provide affordable housing to the

poor and make urban areas slum free.

2 . C H A l l E N G E S I N W AT E R S U P P ly F o R U R B A N P o o R

2.1.

Most of the slum settlements lack water and

sanitation systems and are often located in

high-risk areas of cities. In many cases, entire

townships have emerged in slum developments

operating within the framework of an informal

economy. However, not all slum dwellers are

poor. Some non-poor people also live in slums

because rent control laws have created extreme

scarcity of housing for low income groups. All

this has profound implications not only for

environmental degradation but also for the

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productivity of those who live in slums with huge

under provision of basic urban services.

2.2.

As per NSS, 69th Round, it is observed that

in 2012, at an all India level, 94.1 per cent

households living in slum areas had improved

source of drinking water. The proportion was

more than 75 per cent in almost all the states,

with some notable exceptions like Delhi (53.4

per cent) and Jharkhand (67.6 per cent). At an

all India level, 95.4 per cent households living in

non-slum areas had improved source of drinking

water. It is interesting to note that in Delhi, while

53.4 per cent households living in slum areas

had improved source of drinking water, the

proportion was 99.3 per cent for households

living in non-slum areas. This pattern was also

observed in bigger states like Gujarat, Jharkhand,

Karnataka, and West Bengal. But in case of states

like Kerala and Rajasthan, a reverse pattern was

observed. Improved source of drinking water

includes: ‘bottled water’, ‘piped water into

dwelling’, ‘piped water to yard/plot’, ‘public tap/

standpipe’, ‘tube well/borehole’, ‘protected well’,

‘protected spring’, and ‘rainwater collection’.

However, as per WHO-UNICEF JMP data, 2012,

the total urban population using improved

drinking water facilities is 97 per cent.

2.3.

Access to safe water remains a vexed issue

for the urban poor living at the bottom of

the pyramid. In absence of public services,

households depend on multiple sources of water.

This ranges from procuring water from private

players or some form of provisioning which is

difficult to access such as water tankers by public

utilities. In addition, nearly one-third of urban

households do not have any water source within

their premises, and nearly a third depend on

shared facilities. Water quality is emerging as a

major concern due to ground water dependency

of urban poor and its rapid depletion. High levels

of Non-Revenue Water and Unaccounted for

Water remains a great challenge for most of the

cities and towns in India.

2.4.

Most of the urban poor, particularly in non-formal

slums are forced to participate in bringing some

sort of ground water supplies, such as hand-

pumps or borewells with submersible pumps,

through use of often unauthorised

power connections.

Policy and Governance Framework

for urban Water

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W AT E R S U P P ly F o R U R B A N P o o R I N I N d I A

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1 . G o v E R N A N C E F R A M E W o R k

1.1

Governance is the weakest and most crucial link

that needs to be repaired to bring about the

urban WASH transformation needed in India.

Financing the large sums required to meet the

investment needs of urban infrastructure is

crucially dependent on the reform of institutions

and the capacity of those who run the institutions

for service delivery and revenue generation.

Large expenditures in Indian cities and towns

have to be combined with better governance

structures, strong political and administrative will

to collect taxes and user charges, and improved

capacity to deliver.

1.2

Cities must be empowered, financially

strengthened, and efficiently governed to

respond to the needs of the citizens and to

contribute to the growth momentum2.

1.3

Government of India has taken vital decisions

in the recent past to bring about changes in

terms of reform agendas in urban WASH sector.

Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), followed

by Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban

Transformation (AMRUT) and Smart Cities

Initiative of Government of India set the agenda

for these reforms. This shift, when seen with the

vibrant private sector in India too is a strength,

with potential (along with NGOs and civil society

groups) for increased involvement in supply

of water and sanitation services, potential for

substantially increased investments, increased

involvement in planning, implementation and O

& M, potential for institutional strengthening and

training support, etc. Signs of change are already

2 Report on Indian Urban Infrastructure and Services, March 2011

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evident in few cases such as Hyderabad, Chennai,

etc. With the initiatives underway to make the

sector more viable and credit worthy, more and

more urban centres are likely to adopt similar

reform initiatives.

1.4

Given below is a list of ministries and institutions

responsible for Urban Water Supply and

Sanitation (UWSS) sector at the central and state

levels.

Ministry institution responsibility

Planning Commission Planning Commission Planning and allocation of central government funds through five year plans

Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR)

Central Water Commission (CWC)

Central Ground Water Board (CGWB)

Concerning quality and overexploitation

Regulatory activities of ground water

Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)

National Rivers Conservation Directorate (NRCD)

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)

Responsible for conservation of forests & river bodies

Pollution watch

Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD)

Central Public Health Environmental and Engineering Organization (CPHEEO)

Standards setting and harmonization between states

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW)

National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD)

Research and advocacy, particularly with civil society

Others Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO)

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC)

Funding for housing and otherinfrastructure sectors

Development funding

Table 1 Central Government Institutions responsible for UWSS sector

Source The World Bank, 2006

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agency type Jurisdiction responsibility

o&M Capital Works

State-level Specialist Agency (SSA)

Entire state

Large Cities

Small Cities

City-level specialist Agency

City-level specialist Agency

Local Government

SSA

SSA

SSA

Public Health and Engineering Departments (PHED)Municipal Departments

Entire stateSmall Cities

Large municipal corporations

Local Government

Municipal Departments

PHED

Municipal Department

Metropolitan-level Specialist Agency (MSA)

Metropolitan centres MSA MSA

Specialist Municipal Undertaking (SMU)

Metropolitan centres SMU SMU

Table 2 State-level institutional arrangements in the UWSS Sector

Source Urban Water Supply and Sanitation - World Bank Group Strategy, May 2000

2 . P o l I C y F R A M E W o R k

2.1

The policy framework in urban water sector is

diffused at multiple levels from centre to state

and from state to cities and towns. The policy

framework is defined by National Water Policy

of India, Water Framework law, Model Ground

Water Bill and Rules and its subsequent state

versions, River Basin Management Plans, Central

Public Health Engineering Organization Manual

on Water Supply, guidelines and policy directions

issued from time to time by Ministry of Urban

Development, Ministry of Housing and Urban

Poverty Alleviations, and their state counterparts

in different states.

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2.2

Drinking Water is the first charge on all usages

as a matter of policy, for water security itself is

dependent largely on other usages (or rather

poor management in other sectors such as

agriculture and industrial). Water remains in

state subject list as per Indian constitution

but transboundary water has also been a

subject matter for concurrent list. Although

India has recently ratified the UN resolution

on acknowledging right to water, no such right

exists within the Indian policy framework and

government programmes continue to work on

vaguely described entitlement standards defined

by urban administrators and planners.

2.3

The absence of policy framework for slums in

general and for water supply in non-notified

slums and migrant labourer colonies in particular,

has impeded the equitable access to safe water

to citizens living in lowest quartile of incomes

in urban areas. Separation of drinking water

from quality standards by using reverse osmosis

based treatment to ground water, and supplying

it at a cost to urban poor has hardly resulted in

reducing the overall water burden and economic

burden for accessing safe water by urban poor.

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Urban Water Supply

Case Studies for Situational analysis


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1 . d I M E N S I o N S o F W AT E R S U P P ly S E R v I C E T o U R B A N P o o R

There are various dimensions of service delivery

in water supply to urban poor that determine

the effectiveness of the services and ensure

that everyone everywhere is able to access

sufficient water of safe quality for domestic

purposes. The authors in this section have tried

to examine these aspects using case studies from

various urban sites within WaterAid India urban

programme, and from other areas both nationally

and internationally. The serviceability dimensions

looked at in this section through case studies

are–accessibility, equity, equality, efficiency,

reliability and willingness to pay.

1.1. Accessibility

Accessibility is understood as anything with

a standard quality, and has the capability to

reach all the sections of the society. In this

report, accessibility to water supply for the

marginalized and poor plays a very important

role. The following case study will further help in

understanding the significance of the criteria:

The Tubic Para sa Baranguay or the TPSB3 or

Water For The Poor Communities Program was

implemented in the East Zone of Metro Manilla,

Philippines. Manila Water Company was primarily

responsible for introduction of the TPSB program.

The program was implemented during 1988 with

a span of 25 years of the project implementation.

The effort was mainly taken to include the areas

falling under the non-notified slum areas, making

piped water supply available for the marginalised

section of the society for 20 to 24 hours a day.

About 483 TPSB programs were implemented

1 http://www.unescap.org/resources/water-poor-communities-manila-philippines

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across the East Zone of Manila whereby about

6,80,000 urban poor residents got access to

clean, potable and reasonably priced water.

The program was formulated with the whole

process of demarcating the area, organizing and

coordinating with the recipient community, with

the supervising of the pipe-laying and water

meter installations and ensuring and monitoring

daily TPSB operations. Proper mobilization of

the Urban Local Bodies increased community

participation, permits to facilitate constructions

of the project, and providing the support to

the Manila Water Company Inc. The slum areas

were provided with improved quality of service

provision to improve services and increase the

coverage charges for the poor population.

The outcomes of the program show that the

marginalized sections of the society, that is

the poor people living in the slums, can also

have access to piped water supply system.

The introduction of the program has made the

poor people realize their responsibilities and

ownership of the capital costs, operation and

maintenance costs. Accessibility to the piped

water system has made a greater impact on the

policy changes in the connection application

requirements such as waiving-off of the land

title requirements and introduction of flexible

payment schemes with respect to the active

people’s participation. Here the poor were

responsible for choosing the scheme type

and were also lead directors in the collection

arrangement for their community. It is to be

noted that the residents also played a very

crucial role in the management, monitoring and

maintenance of TPSB facilities. Water bills were

collected by the respective representatives and

the leaders, in the case of a community managed

water connection. Therefore, a successful

participation of private sector can be concluded

from this kind of case study. This model provides

a solution where we can build access to safe

water to the urban poor at an affordable price

from same piped water supply scheme which

supplies water to well off people living in the

city. This is even possible if we are designing

the water supply infrastructure and services in

Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. However,

in the long run the benefits from the program

are questionable as slum situations are dynamic

in nature. Also, the water pricing policy (rising

block tariff structure) adversely affects the poor,

especially those connected through communal

or shared water meters. The regulatory functions

of the MWSS Regulatory Office should be

expanded to cover the regulation of water pricing

by community leaders or agents in TPSB areas

so that the poor customers will be protected

from price monopolies. Thus, fair and equitable

distribution of water for all in an urban set up,

can be achieved through constantly improved

policy adaptation. Therefore, the example from

Manila, Philippines is the success story of a

PPP model which is pro poor, sustainable and

inclusive.

1.2. Equity

Equitable distribution forms an absolute

parameter to define the allocation of the water

among the marginalized section of the society.

The following success story of the mini piped

water supply in the non-notified slum of Purvidin

Khera, in Lucknow explains the significance of

the criteria.

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profile of purvidin Kheda

City Lucknow

distance from the Head Quarter 30 kms from WaterAid India North Office

Wateraid india’s intervention Since 2012

total number of households 341

total population 1780

percentage dalit population 73 per cent

Ward and Ward number Haider Ganj-2nd (16)

elected parshad Palak Rawat

basic services & facilities in the slum Details in Table A,B,C

Community institutions promoted Shahari Garib Sangharsh Morcha

Case Study of Non-Notified Slum Purvidin Khera in Lucknow

Source Vigyan Foundation, Lucknow

The slum of Purvidin Khera is situated about

15 kilometers away on the outskirts of the city

of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, along the Hyder

Canal with 210 households and a population

of 1100 on the right side of the canal and

about 131 households and a population of

680 people on the left of the canal. It is one of

the few examples of non-notified slums where,

through intervention of the non-government

organization and the governmental aid, the mini

piped water supply scheme has been successfully

implemented. Looking back at the history of

the scheme, it is to be noted that with constant

community participation and the efforts of

Vigyan Foundation, the implementation process

for providing water was only limited to seven

hand pumps covering the 1st and the 2nd part

of the water supply model. Also, a storage tank

was built later to benefit the community who

had participated in the work. However, due to

technical challenges the model of hand-pump

based water supply was failing. Therefore, with

the active community involvement there was a

gradual progress to get a submersible pump.

This kind of new model required water storage

capacity and electricity which was only possible

through the consultation and meeting of the

Slum Development Organisation under the

umbrella of Shahari Gareeb Vikash Morcha in the

year 2014. The participants successfully got their

first 1000 liters’ water tank for storage of water.

However, it did only benefit exclusively 35

households. The scheme was therefore expanded

for the rest of the people of the village and

later mini piped water scheme was introduced.

According to the secondary data collection

through Vigyan Foundation, till date, in the

first functional water source details the total

number of households which benefitted through

submersible and mini water pipe lines in the year

2015 was 45 and in 2016 was 40. In the second

functional water source details the total number

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19

S.no. year WaterSource

total Covered HH

Capital CostSupported byCom-

munityGovt./Others VF Total

1.Pre

Project3 India Mark Hand Pumps 90 - - - - Pre existed

2. 2014 Borewell with Submersible Pump

35 - 25000 15000 40000 Submersible Pump through advocacy and water tank supported by Vigyan Foundation (VF) & WaterAid India (WAI)

3. 2015 Borewell with Submersible Pump & Mini Piped Water Supply

45 40000 - 36000 76000 Community Participation and VF & WAI

4. 2016 Bore well with Submersible Pump & Mini Piped water Supply

40 20000 27500 - 47500 Submersible through advocacy and Mini Water Pipe Line by community contribution

Table A Capital incremental costs for getting access to water supply in 1st Scheme in Purvidin Khera


of households which have benefitted through

submersible and mini pipe lines in the year

2015 was 24 and through hand pumps and mini

water pipelines in the year 2016 was 22. The

The above case study reveals how a mini piped

water supply scheme constructed by people and

managed by urban poor has ensured equitable

supply to households, without any metering and

through community based monitoring. However,

the community currently is not paying any power

charges for running these small water supply

service and therefore financially this model

is able to provide services to the satisfaction

total amount of expense in the first phase of the

operation was for Rupees 1,63,500 whereas in

the second phase the operational expenses were

Rupees 72,500.

of the people. Considering the geographical

location of the slum area along the Hyder Canal,

which majorly drains black and grey water, the

possibility of contamination of water sources

cannot be ignored. One of the biggest challenge

will be to come up with sustainable water sources

which will maintain not only the quantity but also

the quality standards as per technical standards

of drinking water.

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S.no. year Water

Source

total Covered HH

Capital CostSupported byCom-

munityGovt./Others VF Total

1.Before

Intervention2 Hand Pumps 25 - - - - Pre existed

2. 2013 Restoration of two Hand Pumps

60 2000 3000 5000 Community contribution and by Vigyan Foundation & WaterAid India

3. 2015 Submersible & Mini Water Pipe line

24 20000 27500 47000 Community Participation (Model adopted from VF & WAI)

4. 2016 Hand Pump and Mini water Pipe Line

22 20000 8400 28400 Through advocacy and Mini Water Pipe Line BY community contribution and by VF & WAI

Table B Capital incremental costs for getting access to water supply in 2nd Scheme in Purvidin Khera

Figure 1 Submersible pump with Borewell in Purvidin Khrea

Figure 2 Hand Pump in Purvidin Khera


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Figure 3 Along the Hyder Canal Figure 4 Survey team in Purvidin Khera

1.3. Equality

Equality is about equal distribution of water for

the urban poor, for same quality and quantity

standards as well as the costs incurred. In real

life, water supply scheme equality is missed out

often by design and sometimes by default for the

urban poor. The following case study will analyse

the case of equitable water charges and payment

for the same.

Manohar Nagar slum falls under ward no. 2 of

Kanpur city and is situated on the left of the

Ganga Bridge on Kanpur–Lucknow Highway. The

community residing in this area was compelled to

fetch water from the tanneries initially because

the slum was located at a height of about 80 feet

from the ground. With the intervention of Shramik

Bharti and the community contribution, about

seven submersible pumps were constructed and

one submersible pump was repaired. In the year

2014, Water User group was formed keeping

Sakina Lari as the head of the committee.

According to Shramik Bharti, the community

has understood the importance of safe drinking

water and so they themselves constructed

eight submersibles in the slums for getting

water. The water sources are being chlorinated

by the community at regular intervals. The

community is taking responsibility for operation

and maintenance of water sources. About 70

per cent families are using ladles for water

handling at the point of use thereby reducing

possibilities of contamination. From the field

visit, it is understandable that water, among the

350 families, is equally distributed. There are

about two hand pumps, six submersible pumps

and one submersible pump with borewell water

supply that was constructed by the Madarssah

that is distributing water equally among all the

households. At present, under the umbrella of

Shramik Bharti, there are seven federations and

250 self-help groups from which Boond Bachao

Sangathan and Sukh Samriddhi Samuh are

working in this area for supply of water among

all the households. According to the slum, WASH

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Committee in Manohar Nagar plans to make this

slum a model slum. The Committee has planned

to provide water supply to all households so that

all families can have safe drinking water. This

rightly shows the eagerness of the community

and the people to get access to water for all.

1.4. Efficiency

The efficiency of a service is related to how

regularly we are able to deliver services ensuring

quality, quantity within agreed timelines. The

following case study talks about the efficiency of

water supply service in its quest to provide water

to the urban poor:

C A S E S T U d y o F J y o R A S l U M , k A N P U R The hand-pumps of Jyora, a non-notified slum

in Kanpur before the intervention of Shramik

Bharti/WaterAid India, were providing yellow-

coloured and foul smelling water to the local

community. Also, the water, sanitation and

hygiene (WASH) committee formed during

the year 2013 had very weak capacity to start

working towards improvement of Water Supply

Service in Jyora. With intervention of Shramik

Bharti, few people from the slum and the Mayor

intervened in the situation that led to spreading

of awareness among the people of the slum

to fight for their rights to safe water. WASH

Figure 5 Community participation of women and water supply model

Source Shramik Bharti, Kanpur

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Figure 6 Interviewing Sakina Lari, the woman who led the water supply construction

Figure 7 Electricity meter and bill for power charges for water supply in Manohar Nagar

committee was reconstituted with seven core

members and one team leader with the help of

Shramik Bharti and they started dialogue with

political stakeholders for their right to access

water. Later, they were awarded with two new

submersible pumps which were benefitting about

70 households. It is interesting to note that with

the continuous efforts of the WASH committee,

District Magistrate was informed about the

quality of the water issues in the slum. Later in

the year 2015, with the intervention of the World

Vision Kanpur and selected Parshad led to the

introduction of the Akshay Jal Water ATM in Jyora.

Today the entire community of the Jyora slum

has successfully achieved potable water from

water ATM. Therefore, it can be understood from

this example that WASH committee at present is

effectively managing the Water ATM and has been

able to provide drinking water of a certain quality

and quantity to all the residents of the slums. The

WASH committee in Jyora is now trying to move to

the issue of sanitation and make toilets accessible

for everyone.

1.5.Willingness to pay

Willingness to pay is a proxy indicator of how

people see the quality of a particular service and

its costing and the service being duly subsidised

by responsible public agencies, keeping

affordability by poorest of the poor in mind.

T H E C A S E S T U d y o F M A k k U S H A H I d k A A B H AT TA S l U M , k A N P U R

During the year, 2014-15 Makku Shahid ka Bhatta

notified slum in Kanpur, Gangapur, Jajmau was

running out of water supply primarily because

the topography of the slum was at a height of

about 50 meters which was not feasible for

constructing hand pumps. What is interesting

to note is that, the people of the slum collected

water from the private water suppliers of Tendri

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at a rate of Rs. 150 per month per household.

But with the dearth of electricity, the supply from

Tendri gradually reduced to a minimal level.

With the intervention of WaterAid India and

Shramik Bharti, about 25 families participated

actively to construct the submersible pumps

with borewells and public taps whereby the

organizations contributed for pipes for borewell

and submersible pump and the community

contributed about Rs. 2000. Thus, the water

supply issues were mitigated at the basic

level followed by the issue of how to ensure

equal distribution of water. The issue of water

collection was time consuming as approximately

450 households were using water from a single

submersible pump based on a public stand post.

This issue was discussed with the community

and technical options for pipe line extension,

with a tap connection in each household using

the same borewell fitted with submersible pump,

was worked out with its costing. It can be cited

in this context that with the willingness of a few

members of the beneficiaries to pay for pipelines

from the pump were brought to respective

individual households. This led to the additional

contribution of about Rs. 3000 per household.

Therefore, this example shows the eagerness

and will power backed by financial capability to

invest in the water supply infrastructure by the

community. While examples like this show what

community action can achieve, the drivers often

for such cases are failures of civic services by

responsible public institutions to reach the urban

poor.

1.6. Reliability

Reliability of a public service such as water

supply means that enough water as per need of

people is available at all the times and systems

and resources are in place to respond quickly

ensuring the minimum disruption of the services.

C A S E S T U d y o F S A N W A l d A S S l U M I N k A N P U RAccording to the secondary data analysis, the

Sanwaldas Ghat Slum is situated at the bank of

Ganges, with an approximate habitation of 105

families and with an approximate population of

about 450 people. The community initially tried

to fetch water from the wells and hand pumps

which dried up later on. The pipeline following

the Ganga Barrage was also considered as one of

the main sources for collecting water. However,

the household women workers found this way of

collecting water very challenging and therefore

started abandoning it. The wells gradually dried

up. By water testing of both water sources with

help from Shramik Bharti, it was discovered that

diseases like diarrhea were frequently occurring

due to the bacterial contamination in water.

A temporary solution to this issue was that

people collected drinking water from another

government’s piped water supply nearby. With

the active participation of the ‘Ward Committee’

and after a constant struggle for a year and

with the help of the KMC (Kanpur Municipal

Corporation), the community, for the first time

in thirty years, got connections to piped water

supply system in the month of March, 2016. By

participating through community contribution

for both capital and O&M costs, the community

showed how to achieve access through a

government piped water supply scheme, through

community participation to ensure reliable

services. Now both men, women and children

can devote their time to other productive work.

25

According to Shramik Bharti, this is an exemplary

story of citizen leadership and organised efforts

that changed the lives of hundreds of urban poor

after suffering for more than three decades.

The case studies stated above try to present

how the communities involving urban poor have

struggled to achieve access to water supply and

how the solutions that have been designed have

been able to overcome their limitations regarding

one or the other criteria of an inclusive water

supply for urban poor.

Figure 8 Water user committee fought for the right to water

Source Shramik Bharti, Kanpur

26

W AT E R S U P P ly F o R U R B A N P o o R I N I N d I AW AT E R S U P P ly F o R U R B A N P o o R I N I N d I A

Analysing the Economic Burden

on urban poor


4

1 . P o o R ly TA R G E T E d S U B S I d I E S A N d B U R d E N I N G U R B A N P o o R

This chapter describes how in urban water supply

the subsidies are poorly targeted. Analysing the

real-life experiences of urban poor in slums, it

shows how the urban poor carry more burden

than the well-off citizens in the city, to access

water supply of inferior quality and quantity.

27


indiCator purVidin KHera raKHi Mandi CHotti JuGauli

Higher income group people living in urban areas of lucknow

Type of Slum / Municipal area

Non-Notified Slum Non-Notified Slum

Notified Slum Municipal Area

Number of Households

45 70 14 -

Average cash income per month per household (In Rupees)

5000 3000 5000 40,000

Capital Expenditure (In Rupees)

76,000 40,000 42,993 Standards setting and harmonisation between states

Community Contribution

40,000 8,000 28,000

Other Contribution

36,000 (Vigyan Foundation+WaterAid India)

10,000 (Shramik Bhar-ti + WaterAid India)

10,000 (Shra-mik Bharti+ WaterAid India)

Capital community contribution per household

1689 571 3071 Rs. 6000 (average)

Capital household contribution as % of Annual Cash Income per household

2.8% 1.58% 5.11% 1.25%

O&M cost per household per month

150 100 150 100

Table C Situational analysis of capital and operation and maintenance costs incurred by different slums

Source Primary data collected from the field and secondary data from the respective organisation

28


o&M Cost as % of average annual cash income

3% 3.33% 3% 0.25%

Level of water supply per capita per day

72 74 74 135

Water use Drinking, cooking, bathing, washing clothes, cleaning house and animals sometimes

Drinking, cooking, bathing, washing clothes and cleaning households

Drinking, cooking, bathing, washing clothes and cleaning households

Drinking, cooking, bathing, washing clothes cleaning households, washing vehicles, kitchen gardens and coolers

Perception About Water Quality

In the initial few minutes, water has sand particles which after some time settle down and water is improved for use

Water Quality sometimes is problematic

In the initial few minutes, water has sand particles which after some time settle down and water is improved for use

Safe Water

Types of Water Supply system

Borewells with submersible pumps, Hand-Pumps

Borewells with submersible pumps, Hand-Pumps, few wells

Borewells with submersible pumps, Hand Pumps

Piped water supply

Reliability Medium Low Medium Good

Support Organisation

Vigyan Foundation, WaterAid India and Government

Vigyan Foundation, WaterAid India

Vigyan Foundation, WaterAid India

Government/ Municipality

Regulation Absent Absent Absent Partially regulated

Scale on Sustainability

Medium Low Medium Good

Table C Situational analysis of capital and operation and maintenance costs incurred by different slums

Source Primary data collected from the field and secondary data from the respective organisations

29


The following conclusions can be derived from an

analysis presented in the table above:

1.1. The capital contribution by each household

as percentage of their annual household income

in slums ranges from 2.8 per cent to 5.11 per

cent in urban slums for lower quality assurance

and still lower levels of water supply as compared

to only 1.25 per cent contribution by well-offs

citizens living in the city in posh areas.

1.2. Operation and Maintenance charges for

urban poor living in slums ranges between 3 per

cent to 3.33 per cent of their annual household

income as compared to well offs living in the city

who are paying just 0.25 per cent of their annual

household income.

1.3. The Water Quality of the water supplied

in slums is of a far inferior quality than what is

available from public water sources to well-offs

living in the city.

1.4. The service levels of water supply in slums

are much less than what the well-offs in the city

are receiving. The urban poor living in different

kind of slums are getting 72-74 liters water per

Capita per day (LPCD) as compared to 135 LPCD

or more by well-offs living in the city.

1.5. Overall reliability of water supply schemes

is low or medium for water supply in slums as

compared to the one available to the well-off

residents in the city.

Figure 9 Water storage buckets used in slums, Choti Jugaouli, Lucknow City, 2017

30


W AT E R S U P P ly F o R U R B A N P o o R I N I N d I AW AT E R S U P P ly F o R U R B A N P o o R I N I N d I A

Realising Right to Water

for urban poor


5

In the Indian context, though the right to water

is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution,

there is judicial support for it under Article 21,

the right to life (a fundamental right), which has

been reiterated in a number of court judgements.

For instance, in December 2000, in the course

of a case involving the government of Andhra

Pradesh’s permission to an oil company to

set up a potentially polluting industry in the

catchment area of two rivers which are the main

sources of drinking water for Hyderabad and

Secunderabad, the Supreme Court ruled that

access to clean water is a fundamental human

right of all citizens under Article 21 of the Indian

Constitution, and that the state is duty bound to

provide it (Ramachandraiah, 2001). However, the

implications of judicial judgements for different

dimensions of the right to water are not clear,

and have to be derived from rules and norms

of specific programs of different departments

working on water (at the central, state and sub-

state level). What is problematic, though, is that

many aspects of water policies and legislation

(especially in the ongoing reforms) are also

explicitly incompatible with the right to water for

basic needs.

The recent experiment by Delhi government

calling for free supply of up to 700 litres of water

per family per day for the metered connection

from public water supply schemes has been seen

by some sections of society as articulation of

drinking water rights albeit through entitlement

based approach .

Realising right to water for people living in slums

for their basic water needs for dignified life is

fraught with multiple complex challenges and till

the government recognises this right or finds a

way to implement it, the urban poor communities

will continue to struggle to access the already

scant resource in the thirsty cities of India.

31

Finding Our Way Forward


6

1 . The following points elaborate, based on

experiences gained in different water programs

for urban poor, our way forward to ensure

improved access to basic water supply by urban

poor.

1.1. decentralising water supply governance

models to lowest (Slum or Basti) levels

in accordance with 74th Constitutional

Amendment Act: It is to be noted that the

practise of the public responsibilities should

be assigned at the lowest possible level with

a clearly defined accountability framework.For

example, in the case studies that authors have

looked at, it was due to the keen efforts of the

Slum or Basti level User Committee in Purvidin

Khera, Lucknow that people were successful in

achieving a piped water supply system.

1.2. Regulating the domestic water supply

pricing both by government and private

sector/individuals: Both the government and

community or private sector pricing of water/

water tariff for basic needs should be regulated

and cross subsidised with higher end usages. The

water for basic needs by public/private supplies

should be regulated on the basis of consumption

with a principle of – the more you use, more you

pay.

1.3. Rain water harvesting, use of

surface water and reducing ground water

dependency: Communities should look for

rain water harvesting, protection of local water

bodies such as tanks, ponds and lakes so as to

reduce their dependency on rapidly depleting

ground water tables to ensure long term source

sustainability.

32


1.4.Information, Education and

Communication (IEC): The communities

need to be informed and educated through

appropriate communication messages to ensure

that user behaviour practices are improved for

conservation of water and its judicious use.

1.5. Reducing exclusion within exclusion: It is

unfortunate for that section of the marginalised

people who fall under the Below Poverty

Line (BPL) and who fail to participate in the

community activities to become beneficiaries.

They are often forced to buy water from the

people who have benefitted lately. For example,

in case of Gyanvati of Choti Jugauli Slum,

Lucknow, UP, she failed to participate in the ‘Jal

Samiti’ and now she is forced to buy water from

the beneficiaries at a rate of Rupees 200 from

the same water supply scheme for which the

Samiti members are either not paying anything or

paying nominally.

1.6. Review of slum improvement laws to

provide for conferment of occupancy rights:

Access to water by public agencies should be

delinked to land ownership issue. The Manila

Water Case Study in the beginning of this report

is a case which proves that public agencies can

provide with safe water through piped water

supply schemes to urban poor in a transparent

and accountable way.

Figure 10 Gyanvati Devi, Choti Jugaoli, Lucknow city, UP

Figure 11 Accounting of number of members in the water user association, Purvidin Khera, UP

33

The Jhakarkatti Rakhi Mandi Slum is situated

near Jhakarkatti over-bridge on railway

land. It falls in ward 47 in zone 5 of Kanpur

Municipal Corporation. It is about 65 years

old, triangular in shape, with Delhi–Kolkata

railway line on one side, railway colony on

the other side and Indira Malin Basti on

the third side. There are 500 households

inhabited by 581 families in Jhakarkatti Rakhi

Mandi with a population of 2790. Most of

the people residing in this area are rickshaw

pullers, domestic workers and unskilled

labourers. Post intervention of the Shramik

Bharti, the submersible pump which has been

constructed to benefit 70 households is often

defunct primarily because the pumps are

used at irregular intervals. This behavior of

the people has failed to mitigate the issue of

the water supply primarily because of the lack

of IEC within the community. Also there is a

complete absence of Water User Committee in

the area. This will again increase the burden

of the costing for the water infrastructure

in the long run. At present, it is only one

particular political leader (Mohm Laddan)

who looks after the operation and the

maintenance of the hand pumps and the

submersible pumps, and who accepted

during an interview that the absence of proper

IEC materials often causes the dis-functioning

of the pumps and causes a dearth of

water supply.

It was during the year 2015, March 3rd that

the right of water was recognised as an

integral part of right to life of Article 21 of

the Constitution of India. According to the

daily newspaper DNA, the Bombay High Court

(HC) directed the Brihan Mumbai Municipal

Corporation (BMC) to come up with a policy

to provide water to the non-notified areas

settlement for slums which had come up post

January, in the year 2000. It is highlighted

here that small organisation called “Pani Haq

Samity” actively fought for their rights for

water and also filed Public Interest Litigation

in the year 2011 demanding the right to water

for all the inhabitants irrespective of the

legality or the illegality of the land. Here, the

water charges were declared by the Judges

to be higher as due to shortages of the piped

water network and suggestion of providing

water through pre-paid cards. However, it was

made clear that given objection by the land

authorities the areas were deprived of water

supply. Also, BMC mentioned that the water

supply is only being done on humanitarian

grounds and it will not assure their right

to the property. It is noteworthy that the

implementation of such policy is still pending.

CASE STUdy oF JHAkARkATTI RAkHI MANdI SlUM

CASE STUdy oF MUMBAI SlUMS

Source DNA Newspaper

34


1. Benchmarking and Databook of Water Utilities in India 2007

2. Partnership between MOUD, GOI and Asian Development Bank

3. Central Pollution Control Board, MOEF, JNNURM 2011

4. Drinking Water Supply for Urban Poor: Role of small water enterprises

5. Water sanitation scenario in Urban India, HUP

6. Water and sanitation when utilities muddled through: Pro poor governance in Bangalore public water

sector, Genevive Connors, 2005

7. Lucknow water supply: An insight into the third water works

8. Status of drinking water and sanitation in India, WaterAid, 2005

9. Urban water supply and sanitation in India, PEARL, National Institute of Urban Affairs

10. Urban water supply and sanitation in India, IIHS 2013

11. India Infrastructure Report, 2011

12. Urban Water Supply in India, status reform options and possible lessons by David McKezie and Isha Ray

13. National Water Policy, 2012

14. Eliminating discrimination and inequalities in access to water and sanitation (UN water policy brief )

15. Thirsty cities by M Dinesh Kumar, 2014

references

WATERAId INdIA CoUNTRy oFFICE

2nd floor, RK Khanna Tennis Stadium, 1, Africa Avenue, Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi 110029

Tel: +91 11 6612 4400 Email: [email protected]

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